A commentary upon the whole Old Testament, added to that of the same author upon the whole New Testament published many years before, to make a compleat work upon the whole Bible. Vols. 2-4. Wherein the divers translations and expositions, literall and mysticall, of all the most famous commentators both ancient and modern are propounded, examined, and judged of, for the more full satisfaction of the studious reader in all things, and many most genuine notions inserted for edification in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. A work, the like unto which hath never yet been published by any man, yet very necessary, nor only for students in divinity; but also for every Christian that loveth the knowledge of divine things, or humane, whereof this comment is also full. Consisting of IV parts. I Upon the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses. II Upon the historical part, from Joshua to Esther. III Upon Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Solomons Song. IV Upon all the prophets both great and small. By John Mayer, doctor of divinity.

CHAP. X.

MY Soul is weary of my life, I will leave my complaint upon my selfe, &c. * 1.1 The vulg. Dimittam adversus me eloquium meum, I will let my speech go against my self; Expounded by Gregory thus, It irks my soul that my life is so sinful, as to bring so great Judgments upon me; I will therfore not * 1.2 excuse, but accuse my self; wherein we are also taught what to do, and not when we have done evill and God meets with us by his Judgments, o•• we are accused and in danger to be punished, therfore to deny the evill which we have done, as the manner of most is: And because some speak in con∣fessing their sinns, or telling of them without all greif therefore; yea ra∣ther glorying and delighting to recount them, he addeth further, I will [Note.] speak in the bitterness of my Soul, As every one must do that would have pardon. Against glorying in sinn which is our shame, see Phillip. 3. 21. The Hebrew is, I will leave my words of complaint upon me: To the same effect; For he that doth so complain of his own evill deserts, and consequent∣ly against himself.

And the next words follow well after these, being thus understood.

I will say unto God, do not condemn me, shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. Seeing I confess all the fault for which I suffer is in my selfe (O * 1.3 Lord) do not thou proceed still against me, but now that I do, as thou re∣quirest of sinners, shew me wherefore thou still proceedest in thy Judgments against me, and dost not release me from them, that if there be any other thing by me to be done, I may apply my self unto it and recover thy favour; a speech much like unto that Ch. 7. 20. for the just Judg of all the world wil not smite without a cause, therefore not the poor, the work of his own hands, as it followeth, V. 3.

Neither will he help the counsell of the wicked. Wherby he meaneth his wicked friends, who conspired together to lay some gross sinns to his charge, * 1.4 arguing from the Judgments upon him, thar he must needs be notoriously wicked before God, and if his plagues should still continue, they would be confirmed in their evill opinion against him.

Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as a man seeth? Gregory, who by the wicked spoken of, V. 3. understandeth the devill taking occasion by afflictions * 1.5 to drive the servants of God to sin, & so into the danger of everlasting death, which he cannot otherwise effect to make them as miserable as himself; and the former words, Seems it good to thee to oppresse the Poor: as if he had said, I know it doth not, but thou seest some cause of these my Suffrings, which I do not, and for this I greive; He I say expoundeth this of V. 4. Thus, if thou hadst eyes like a man to see nothing till it were done, and wert in thy time and dayes like a man of short continuance, made in time, and so cut off again in a short time, and not from everlasting to everlasting, knowing all things to come from Eternity, and not as man who cannot know things so; because he cannot know but after he hath a being, I should not marvel a•• thy pursuing me with thy Judgments to prove me, but now it amazeth and troubleth me much, to think why thou thus tryest me, being so well known unto thee; even before I was born. Thus also August. and Tho: Aquinas Polichron. and many more. V. 7.

Thou knowest that I am not wicked, and none can deliver me out of thy hands. * 1.6

The vulg. joyning it by a copulative to the former verse, renders it, And thou mayst know that I am not wicked. Hebr. It is upon thy knowledge, without any copulative, Job appealeth here out of the clearness of his conscience to God himself, seeking to move him hereby, not to try him further by his judg∣ments,

sith he knew, that he had not a wicked, but an upright heart; as God had testified of him, chap. 1. 1. Yea and since he was tryed by so soare sufferings, nothing wicked proceeded from him: For the words adjoyned, None can deliver out of thy hands. It is as if he had said, Thus thou knowest it to be with me, that I have no wicked heart, but for this I expect not to be delivered; for thou canst stil finde matter in me, for which to lay thy hands upon me: But the more I submit my self, acknowledging nothing of worth in me, for which to be delivered; the more milde shouldest thou be in thy dealings towards me, as a Lion to a man crouching to him. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me round about. Because nothing in him∣self was of force to plead for deliverance in regard of it, he now useth ano∣ther * 1.7 argument from Gods own work, which he was, therefore he hoped that he would not destroy him any more, then his own work, which none will do: And in this we may have great confidence, that are truly faith∣ful, seeing as the Apostle saith: We are his work-manship created unto good works in Christ Jesus. Hast not thou powred mee out like milke, and curdled * 1.8 me out like cheese? Having said, V. 9. That he had made him of clay, wherin he alludeth to the making of the first man, now he speakes of the generation of men, coming of the seed of man; like white milk and coagu∣lated in time together into flesh, which he speaketh of, to move the Lord to take care now of his preservation, and that he might not be destroyed: But that he would tender his own work so admirably framed, as it is even the body of man; of which it is spoken, Psal. 139.

Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and fenced me with bones and si∣newes. * 1.9 Both this and that of milk made into cheese, is by Gregory expoun∣ded allegorically, besides the literal sense thus: Thou hast made me out of the milk of which I first came, into a new form of spiritual conversation. As the cheese made out of milk is now a new thing, and although I have flesh, and consist of flesh, yet thou hast strengthened me against this my weakness, in regard of sin, as with bones and sinewes, the flesh is strengthned to stand, and to do that, which otherwise it could not: For it is not somuch to plead that a man may not be destroyed, because God hath made his body; for so he hath made the bodies of Beasts that perish: But this is a strange plea and prevalent with him, that he hath wrought a work of grace, a spiritual work in him, to the making of him a new man: Wherefore he more expresly speaketh of this also, V. 12.

Thou hast given me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. For in saying thus, he meaneth, not only the inliving of his body * 1.10 with a reasonable soule, as he doth to all men: But also a spiritual life and grace; for which his bodily life hath been heitherto also preserved, with which Satan would have been dealing, as we may see by these words, chap. 2. Skin for skin and all that a man hath he will give for his life. But the Lord charged him, when he put all that he had into his hands, to spare his life: Gregory understandeth it altogether of the life spiritual, saith: That * 1.11 life and favour or grace, are joyned together; because, this life is not given to any, but to such as have grace to leave their sinnes: Yet it standeth in dying to sin, and living to righteousnesse, and to live in sin is to be dead, and this life thus attained is not upheld, but by further visitation of his * 1.12 spirit with grace, from which the regenerate to this spiritual life, are conti∣nually suplpyed. According to which Jerom speaketh notably: God is al∣wayes a giver, it is not enough, that he giveth me his grace; unless he alwayes * 1.13 give asupply thereof. V. 13.

And these things hast thou hid in thy heart; I know that this is with thee. The vulg. Sci•• quod universorum memineris. Expounded by Gre∣gory: Thou hast it I know in thy heart, to pardon and release me from these my sufferings, although thou hast not yet laid it open; for thou wilt in thy due time be mindful of all men, in all parts of the World, that shall

beleive in thee, and walk uprightly before thee; which is a thing, that thou yet concealest, but will in thy good time reveal: And hereby he thinketh, [Note.] that the vocation of the Gentiles, and not of the posterity of Abraham on∣ly is implyed. And he gathereth, that men may know the favour that God beareth towards them; howsoever for the present they be under greivous miseries, and that even by his afflicting them, when as in uprightness of heart they serve him and walk before him: For this is a certain sign of he fatherly love. But the new Translat. is word for word, according to the * 1.14 Hebrew; so that he being too much led by the Vulg. lat. fell upon this ex∣position without ground here: The meaning then is nothing else, but what I suffer, is by thy secret counsel and decree come to passe, thy love being never the lesser towards me: And the same is true touching all Gods faith∣ful Servants, that none may despair under their sufferings; but now ga∣ther more assuredly that God loveth them, and therefore the issue of them all, [Note.] shall be joyful and comfortable: And if it be so, what is to be thought of their Tenet that say, No man can know whether he be beloved of God, and shall be saved or not? when as Job knew it, and Paul, who therefore sayth, I have fought a good fight, now remaineth the Crown of righteousness: Which * 1.15 the righteous Judge will bestow upon me, And John. We know that we are the Sonnes of God, &c. But by the way, God dealeth with his Servants, as Jo∣seph * 1.16 with his Brethren, who concealed his brotherly affection for a time, and dealt roughly with them, but in the end, he could contain no longer, but shewed it to their exceeding great comfort and joy.

If I sin, thou markest me, and wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. The vulg. If I have sinned, and thou hast spared me for an hour: Why dost not th•••• * 1.17 suffer me to be clean from mine iniquity? Hebr. If I have sinned, and thou hast, marked me, and if thou hast not cleansed me from mine iniquity; If I be wicked woe is to me. And the sense is plain: If thou proceedest against me with these thy judgments, as against a wicked man for his wickedness, then woe * 1.18 is to me; I am in a sinful and miserable condition indeed: And hereby two things are intimated, First, That the righteousness of the best man, standeth in this, that God hath cleansed him from his sinnes, justifying him by faith in Christ, and so forgiving them all unto him; and not in this, that he is without sin, or that God marketh not his sinnes. Secondly, He that suffereth as an evil doer, asinner, and so accounted before God, is in a most miserable case, woe is unto him; for he both suffereth in present, and shall [Note.] suffer in future for ever. And such are all they, that murmure against God in their sufferings; as if they were not worthy to be so dealt withall: But on the contrary side afflictions suffered, which have this effect to cleanse from sin, wherein a man hath formerly lived; or if he hath not so lived, yet to make him know, that he is not without sin; and therefore to justi∣fie God in all his doings towards him, blessed and happy is he; that we may take heed, that we bring not this woe upon us, either by living licentiously, or by setting our mouths or hearts against Heaven, whatsoever we suffer; or not being cleansed hereby from our sinnes, because this is a certain sign that God cleanseth thee not, if by his rod thou bee••t not cleansed, to live in his feare for all times to come. If I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head, I am full of confusion, therefore see thou mine affliction. The vulg. Saturatus afflictione, & miseria Heb. Being ful of confusion, and the sight, of my misery, or see my misery, that is, See thou o Lord: Here Job fal∣leth again to complayning of his misery, seeing this to be the case, that whether a man be wicked or righteous, he must suffer much misery: The wicked by the woe, that shall further be to him, besides his miseries here: And the righteous by abundance of miseries in this life, for which he saith, that he will not lift up his head, that is, By being conceited well of him∣self, which were intolerable pride, and would be a meanes to make the Lord to increase them yet more: As followeth, V. 16. It increaseth, thou * 1.19

huntest me as a fierce Lion, and again: Thou shewest thy self marvelous * 1.20 upon me. The vulg. And for pride thou wilt take me as it were a Lion, and returning thou dost marvelously torment me. The word rendred increaseth, or for pride is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying either to be proud, or to increase: But be∣cause it is a Verb and not a Noun, it is best rendred Increaseth: And the next words shew how, viz. God persuing him, as a fierce Lion, against whom what can a poor weak man do? The Sept. Whom many Greek wri∣ters follow, hath it: I am taken as a fierce Lion, whom the hunters persue, with many woundes, till they have destroyed him: For the last words of the verse, Hebr. It is, Thou shalt make thy self wonderfull upon me. Whereby Gods various dealing towards him, is set forth, as indeed it was, in that after tearing him like a Lion with his judgments, he turned his captivity so wonderfully, as he did, chap. 42. and therefore the Vulg. mistook the matter rendring it, mirabiliter me crucias. For in these words, Job shew∣eth rather again, what a confidence he had, that God returning to him in mercy, would do wonderfully for him in the end; the word turning here, and the turning of his captivity, there so aptly answering the one to the o∣ther, to approve this exposition. * 1.21

Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and renewest thine indignation up∣on me; changes and war are against me. A great difference is here amongst Expositors, who the witnesses be, that he here speaketh of: Some saying, That the Divil is meant, who first stood against Job, chap 1. and 2. Some these his friends, who came to visit him, who came not without Gods pro∣vidence to lay such things to his charge as they did, and some his dolorous sufferings from whence, as from witnesses men gather, that he was wick∣ed, because that otherwise he should not have had them laid upon him, for stupendous judgments declare oft times, as witnesses, that the man whom they be fall is some way notorious: Thus Augustine whom most follow, and indeed he speaketh most probably: Yet the friends of Job would not be * 1.22 excluded from bearing a part in this Testimony, for they together with his judgments made war, as it were upon him, per 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, by word fighting with him, as immediatly followeth: And in speaking thus he allu deth, to the manner in Courts; wherein the Judge examineth witnesses against prisoners, and then proceedeth to denounce judgment, and to execute them accordingly, by the hands of his Executioners, who are as his Souldiers to slay them. Verse 18. 19. are to the same effect, that he spake, chap. 3. 11. Thus, Job like a man almost distracted by sufferings, sometime turneth himselfe one way and sometime another; seeking by all meanes some ease to his greived mind. For the verses following, to the end of the chapter, V. 20. 21. 22. There is nothing in them, but a repetition of speeches be∣fore * 1.23 uttered by him, of the shortness of his daies, craving therefore to be spared a little before his going hence, and no more returning, into a Land of darkness, and confusion; that is, The dark places of the Earth, where his body must lye and become wormes-meat and dust, promiscuously mingled with other bodies: for that he speaketh only of his body, is declared, chap. 19. 26.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Vers. 1.
• * 1.2

  Gregory.
• * 1.3

  Vers. 2.
• * 1.4

  Vers. 3.
• * 1.5

  Vers. 4. Gregory.
• * 1.6

  Vers. 7.
• * 1.7

  Vers. 8.
• * 1.8

  Eph. 2. 10. Vers. 10.
• * 1.9

  Vers 11. Gregory. Allegor.
• * 1.10

  Vers. 12.
• * 1.11

  Gregory.
• * 1.12

  Eph. 2. Rom. 6.
• * 1.13

  Hieron. Sem∣per largitor est deus, semper do∣nator, non satis est quod semel accepi nisi sem∣per accipiam. Vers. 13. Gregory.
• * 1.14

  Heb. 12. 9.
• * 1.15

  2 Cor. 4. 8.
• * 1.16

  1 Ioh. 3. 3.
• * 1.17

  Vers. 14.
• * 1.18

  Vers. 15.
• * 1.19

  Vers. 16.
• * 1.20

  Vers. 16.
• * 1.21

  Vers. 17.
• * 1.22

  August.
• * 1.23

  Vers. 20. 21. 22